ASZURE BARTON

ASZURE BARTON is a prolific creator whose dance work has been equated to “watching the physical unfurling of the human psyche” by the US National Endowment for the Arts. She started tap dancing at the age of three and has been creating for as long as she can remember. Her works have been performed on stages throughout the world, including the Palais Garnier, Mariinsky Theater, The Kennedy Center, Studio 54, Lincoln Center, and Sadler’s Wells, as well as in museums and exhibits, such as the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. She has choreographed for theater, film, and opera, including Broadway, notably for the production of The Threepenny Opera. Early in her career, she founded her own project, Aszure Barton & Artists, in order to create an autonomous, interdisciplinary, and collaborative platform for process-centered creation. Aszure has worked with celebrated artists and companies including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Jessica Chastaine, Misty Copeland, Alan Cumming, Cyndi Lauper, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Nederlands Dans Theater, Teatro alla Scala, American Ballet Theatre, Sydney Dance Company, English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Cuba’s Malpaso Dance Company, and Martha Graham Dance Company, among others. Last year, she premiered a new work (Mere Mortals) at San Francisco Ballet in collaboration with British electronic music producer/DJ Floating Points and mixed media artists Hamill Industries — the first evening-length work created by a woman in SFB’s history, curated by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. Aszure is also delighted to be the current Resident Artist at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Her latest artistic venture is a collaboration with acclaimed trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire; the two premiered their first work titled B E N D at Kampnagel’s International Summer Festival and plan to tour it internationally over the next few years with the partnership of Pomegranate Arts. Tanz Magazine's Falk Schraiber described its "refusal of categorization" and called it "a collaborative work that also draws its appeal from the fact that two artists who are completely secure in their field playfully unsettle each other.” They also created a full-evening collaboration, Slow Burn, at Hamburg Ballett and will premiere a new collaboration (Join) with the Limón Dance Company later this month. Aszure Barton continues to be an innovator of form, having contributed to an evolution of highly specialized dance and theater companies worldwide. Over the years, she has received a myriad of accolades including a Bessie Award for her work Busk. She was the first Martha Duffy Resident Artist at Baryshnikov Arts and is a recipient of the prestigious Arts & Letters Award, joining the likes of Oscar Peterson, Karen Kain, and Margaret Atwood. She is also an official ambassador of contemporary choreography in Canada. As an educator, Aszure is creative partner with Boston Conservatory at Berklee College and has built a longtime working relationship with The Juilliard School.

LINDA HABERMAN

LINDA HABERMAN is best known as the visionary behind the modern-day Rockettes, where her work has been recognized for its demanding physicality, sophisticated style, and detailed synchronization.  She attributes her time spent assisting the luminaries Jerome Robbins and Bob Fosse for influencing her approach to both directing and choreographing. Linda is honored to continue her connection to Mr. Fosse through her ongoing work with the Verdon Fosse Legacy®, where she was recently named Artistic Director of Concert Development.  She directed, staged, and provided additional choreography for Sweet Gwen Suite, a trio of dances originally choreographed by Fosse and Verdon, which premiered at the Fall for Dance Festival in 2021.  Since then, she has taken the lead in the ongoing partnership between TVFL and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, where she staged both Sweet Gwen Suite and Fosse’s Percussion IV.  She is excited to begin work on a new piece as part of the Fosse Forward Initiative. In 2006, Ms. Haberman became the first woman to be named sole director and choreographer of the Radio City Rockettes.  For the next 8 years, with her innovative choreography and use of groundbreaking technology, she pushed the iconic troupe to new heights and critical acclaim.  She also created multiple touring productions of the Christmas Spectacular, which played in over 80 cities across North America. Linda has choreographed numerous Off-Broadway and regional productions, and her work has been seen on television shows such as the NBC broadcast of The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Dancing with the Stars, America’s Got Talent, and The Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. In Japan, she directed and choreographed six productions of La Cage aux Folles and choreographed for the world-renowned Takarazuka Revue Company. On Broadway, Linda was assistant choreographer to Bob Fosse on his last show, Big Deal, was assistant choreographer to Jerome Robbins during the reconstruction phase of Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, and assisted Christopher Chadman on the hit revival of Guys and Dolls. She was in the original Broadway productions of Dancin’, La Cage aux Folles, Can-Can, and the video version of Pippin. Ms. Haberman grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she began studying ballet at age 9. As a young teen, she trained on scholarship with the San Francisco Ballet, School of American Ballet, and the Apprenticeship Program at the Harkness Ballet.

FERNANDO HERNANDO MAGADAN

Fernando Hernando Magadan is a freelance stager, choreographer and teacher with roots in professional gymnastics. Throughout his 20 seasons with the Nederlands Dans Theater, he created with and performed works by prominent choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Mats Ek, Crystal Pite, Sol Leon, Paul Lightfoot, Johan Inger, and Hofesh Shechter among others. Notably, he was invited to perform at the Benois de la Danse Gala Performance at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. He later went on to be rehearsal director and ultimately Artistic Leader of the prestigious junior ensemble NDT2. He has been invited to teach in dance institutions around the world and has set works of Jiří Kylián, Johan Inger, Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot for companies such us the Norwegian National Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, Ballett Zürich and Ballett Saarländisches Staatstheater. Characterized by his highly physical, inventive and musical movement vocabulary, Magadan has created original works for companies such as NDT1 and NDT2, Cross Connection Ballet Company, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Ballet Mainz, Ballett Saarländisches Staatstheater, Korzo Theater, Ballet British Columbia, Theater Luzerner, Korzo Theater and BODYTRAFFIC.